Here we are again folks... another chp for your enjoyment.
JMH
trandar2002@yahoo.com
After a week of floating in the Void, Austin returned to Wor. He was proud of himself, having found a short list of habitable worlds for the exodus. He was unsure that any of them were beyond the reach of the Prelate. Still Austin was glad to be back home... back to his lover, the clan chieftain, Sparrow, and his oath brother Vard.
It had been a slow seduction between him and the man who was one of Vard's childhood friends. When Joshua married Vard a year ago, however, the growing relationship between himself and Sparrow had accelerated. Still, it had been hard for Austin to accept losing Vard to Joshua... on the other hand, if being loved by the blond Sparrow was only a consolation; Austin did not really mind losing.
He was just walking toward Vard's bedroom when he was grabbed from behind and spun around. "Hello my love.' Sparrow's voice laughed into Austin's ear.
"Hello my eagle." Austin grinned as he relaxed in his lover's arms.
"Did you have a nice trip?"
"It had its moments."
"Well I am sure you have plenty of stories to tell," Sparrow said as he nuzzled his face against the back of Austin's neck.
"Yes... I was about to see Vard. Did he have a good birthday?"
"He and Joshua are celebrating right now," Sparrow chuckled. "As we should."
Austin felt a large hand slip into his pants and take hold of his sex, triggering a moan. "I think I can delay my report for a little while longer," Austin giggled, as Sparrow diverted him to a bedroom.
Several hours later, after the two men had exhausted each other, Austin was awakened by a knock on the door. "Come in."
The door opened slowly revealing the tall frame and dark eyes of Vard. "And how is my oath brother?"
"He is well." Austin smiled as he ran his hands through the blond hair that covered Sparrow's chest.
Vard walked into the room and approached the bed, looking fondly on his two friends. "How was your search?"
"I found five more unsettled worlds that could support a colony, but none of them are beyond the reach of the Guild."
"I don't know if we will ever find such a world." Vard said as he sat on the side of the bed, reaching down to ruffle Austin's black hair. "Tomorrow you will need to show Felix where these new worlds are. Things in the Assembly of Worlds are disintegrating rapidly... the exodus will need to begin before long."
"Are things really that bad?" Austin asked, worried.
"According to John they are," Vard nodded.
"I see," Austin nodded, looking up to see into Vard's eyes. "I missed you."
"I missed you too, beloved."
"And what about me?" Sparrow chuckled, as his sleepy blue eyes opened, triggering a laugh from both Vard and Austin.
"How is Joshua?" Austin asked after things had settled down.
"Very busy, now that he and Clive are parents."
"You mean Joshua finally got Clive pregnant?"
"No... even though I suspect that Clive greatly wants that. John and Clare asked Joshua to take care of Drake for them."
Knowing the conflicted emotions the brother and sister felt for the baby, Austin sighed. "Poor child."
"It's for the best. A child is something that both Clive and Joshua wanted. You know how much Joshua already loves the boy."
"Even though he is Gerick's son?"
"Especially because he is Gerick's son. I think Joshua sees Drake as a last chance to redeem Gerick."
"Is that where Joshua is now... taking care of the baby?"
"Yes... you should see how excited he and Clive are," Vard laughed.
"I can imagine."
"Well I already got myself a baby." Sparrow grinned as he hugged Austin to him.
"I'm not a baby," Austin pouted.
"Hahahahaha... but you are, Austin... I don't think you will ever grow out of needing looking after," Vard laughed before planting a kiss on his oath brother's forehead.
"Thanks a lot," Austin glared.
"Austin... it is your need to be protected and cared for that I love most about you," Vard explained.
"I don't see why... makes me feel like a nuisance."
"But you're not," Vard insisted. "You make people feel important... needed."
"I do?"
"Yes beloved... you do," Sparrow agreed with Vard.
"You both make me feel the same way... even when I am acting silly," Austin replied... a little taken aback by both men's comments.
"And we need you," Vard smiled as he let his black robe fall off his long body.
Austin soon found himself sandwiched between the two men he cared about most. With their busy schedules it had been a long time since he and Vard had made love. Austin missed it... missed having the dominating man with the wolfish grin ravish him. When it was over, Austin had a contented smile on his face.
"Next time we will have to do this in the Void," Vard insisted, as he started putting on his clothes.
"Is that a promise?" Austin asked.
Vard let a wolfish grin grow on his face before giving Austin a parting kiss on the cheek.
"Now open up Drake." Joshua said as he held up a spoon of boiled carrots at the dinning room table.
The one-and-a-half-year-old infant laughed before opening his mouth wide, letting Joshua slip the spoon into his mouth.
"Now wipe your face," Joshua told Drake
Drake picked up the napkin from the table and wiped his mouth obediently.
"There you go," Joshua said proudly, while Vard and the others looked on with wide eyes.
"Is it me, or does Drake actually understand what Joshua is saying?" Austin whispered suspiciously into Vard's ear.
"I've noticed the same," Vard chuckled.
As both men watched Joshua feed the child from his lap, they noticed that Drake's grey eyes rarely left his new father's face.
"I think Drake is a little more like his father then we thought," Vard finally said.
"You mean the way the child seems mesmerized by Joshua's every word?" Austin asked.
"Exactly," Vard nodded.
"Do you think we should tell Joshua?" Austin asked nervously.
"And ruin his fun? Look how happy he is!"
Joshua, having finished feeding Drake, was now cradling the boy to sleep. "Beautiful... isn't he?" Joshua beamed, having not heard a single word the others had said.
"Yes he is," Vard agreed.
At that moment Clive walked in carrying a letter on a silver tray. Going over to Joshua he handed the letter to him, taking Drake into his arms while Joshua read it.
"What does it say?" Vard asked when Joshua put the letter down.
"Baron Labatt is coming," Joshua said a little stunned.
"But have you not been inviting him to the palace for a while?" Austin asked.
"Yes... I had almost given up," Joshua nodded.
"Maybe he is now willing to talk to you about Thomas," Vard said hopefully.
"I hope so... the last time I tried he was inconsolable," Joshua sighed.
"When is he coming?" Austin asked.
"Today... in fact he is already here," Clive replied.
"He is already here!" Joshua jumped. He was still in his sleeping robe.
"It's ok Joshua... Broken Claw is giving the Baron a tour of the palace. You have plenty of time to get dressed," Clive said reassuringly.
"Still, I should hurry," Joshua said as he rushed to excuse himself.
"Bye bye," Drake's soft voice called after Joshua as he left.
Labatt knew he looked provincial in his old clothes and with wide eyes. He had never seen the wonders of the floating palace during the reign of old king Leopold. The palace, having been restored by King Vard, was even grander then Labatt had been made to believe. Seeing it now filled him not just with awe, but also fueled his hatred toward its occupants.
"Amazing... isn't it, my Lord Baron," Broken Claw grinned on seeing Labatt's expression.
"Indeed it is... it's unfortunate that the king could not have found better use for the taxes he makes us pay, however."
"Taxes? Taxes did not pay for the restoration," Claw laughed.
"Then how..." Labatt started asking.
"The repairs were undertaken by men working for the Assemblyman of Aquarius... a gift to celebrate King Vard's crowning."
"I did not know the king associated himself with the Guild. I thought he hated them."
"Not all... not all," Broken Claw replied.
"I was wondering where the palace keeps all its water. It must use a great deal." Labatt asked as they passed by a large flowing fountain.
"In giant cisterns under the palace," Broken Claw replied. "A steady stream of Sloth transports brings tens of thousands of gallons of water to the palace each day."
"I am sure they are quite impressive. May I see them?"
"Of course Baron," the clansman agreed. He led Labatt down a series of stairs and through several tunnels. When he stopped, they had arrived in a dark, damp, cavern taken up by what looked like an endless pool of water. "Here we are."
Grateful for the darkness, Labatt approached the edge of the deep pool while, from under his robes, he removed the stopper from the vial of poison the Guild's man had given him. When it dropped into the water, there was only the sound of a small splash.
"Be careful not to fall in, Lord Baron," Broken Claw laughed as he pulled Labatt away from the edge, thinking the sound was nothing more then a kicked stone.
"Thank you," Labatt nodded; now that the deed was done he could relax.
As the baron did not ask to go anywhere else, Broken Claw led him back to the surface and to Joshua, who was pacing around his study nervously.
"Grand Duke Joshua... may I present the Baron of Dralor," Broken Claw announced as he knocked on the open door.
"Thank you Claw," Joshua said as he came from behind his desk and embraced Labatt. "And thank you for coming Baron."
The Baron was a little taken aback when his eyes fell on the king's husband. He did not look the same as he once did... his face was not stained by the coal of the mines. His body, while still tall and muscular, did not look like the same lumbering giant he remembered. Joshua's hair even had a few strands of blond mixed in with his deep brown. All these changes, included with the young man's age, could not help but remind Labatt of Thomas.
"You have changed my Duke," Labatt whispered even as he fought the tears he felt approaching.
"Only a little," Joshua blushed. He could feel the old man trebling in his arms. "Would you care to sit down?"
"Humor an old man and just hold me for a little longer. Let me imagine I have my son back again."
Joshua nodded his head and rocked the baron in his arms while the man cried. Labatt wanted to hate Joshua. He wanted revenge for his son's death, but he could not look at Joshua without seeing Thomas's gentle face.
"It was all my fault... I should have never sent him away," Labatt cried.
"No... it wasn't," Joshua tried to comfort.
"Tell me... tell me how my son died," the baron asked, looking up into Joshua's white eyes.
"It is a long and painful story," Joshua sighed as he guided the old man to a chair.
"I need to know the truth. I need to know whom I should seek revenge against."
"Will that bring your son back to you?" Joshua asked, concerned by the level of hatred that filled Labatt's voice.
"Revenge is all I have left. With Thomas gone, my house will fade away when I die."
"I understand... the person responsible is already long dead however."
"Gerick?" Labatt seemed to remember.
"Yes," Joshua nodded.
"I should have never let that man near my son."
"When Gerick entered your son's life, he was not yet the monster he would later become."
"Gerick hurt you as well?" Labatt asked feeling a concern that surprised him.
"He hurt me and many of those close to me," Joshua said sadly.
"Who killed him? How did he die? Did he suffer?"
"Gerick was always suffering... his death, I hope, gave him release from it."
"Not good enough. Who killed him?" Labatt asked again.
Joshua let out a deep sigh. "My father did."
"Your father?"
"The man who at present sits on the Guild Throne."
"I... I did not know," Labatt said as he shifted in his chair uncomfortably. He was now very confused. If Joshua was indeed the son of the Prelate, why had a Guild's man wanted Joshua to suffer? Was the man who had approached him a rebel? Labatt had been willing to face almost any danger to get revenge... but not the wrath of the head of the Guild. "Duke Van'dar I..."
At that moment there was a knock on the door followed by the sound of a baby's cry. In stepped Clive, looking ragged, holding Drake in his arms. Joshua's eyes left the baron and looked up at Drake.
"Papa, papa, papa!" the child said eagerly, arms outstretched toward Joshua.
"Come here you," Joshua laughed as he stood up and took the boy from Clive's arms.
"And who may this be?" Labatt laughed, relieved for the distraction.
"Baron... this is Drake, my son." Joshua said proudly as the boy gave him a kiss on his cheek.
"I did not know you had a son... I thought..." Labatt said confused.
"He is a new addition to the family." Joshua explained, while he nuzzled his nose against Drake's, triggering more peels of laughter from the boy.
"Then you are not the father?"
"No..." Joshua replied nervously. He was not sure if he should tell the baron that Drake was Gerick's offspring. Not with the hatred the man had for him.
Joshua must have shown that worry on his face, for the baron's mood darkened. "Who is the father... and do not think of lying to me." Thinking the child was just another base born brat that Joshua saved from slavery."
"Gerick," Joshua whispered.
Labatt grabbed the sides of his chair tightly. He had not expected that answer. "Gerick... you mean you let the foul offspring of the man who murdered my son live here among the clouds. You have made the son of that monster your heir, when I have lost the only thing that mattered to me?"
"Baron... it is not Drake's fault who his father was."
"No... nor should it mean you raise the child as your own. You have taken the son of my enemy and made him a prince, while my son does not even have a grave I can visit."
"What do you want from me baron?" Joshua sighed, seeing any chance for reconciliation evaporate.
"Give me the child," Labatt demanded.
"No... you would send him to the mines or kill him." Joshua refused as he held Drake close to him.
"Why should the son of Gerick deserve better than what my own son suffered! Give him to me or this meeting is at an end!"
"No," Joshua said in a cold voice. "Clive, will you escort the baron back to his sky ship."
"Yes my lord," Clive nodded as he grabbed Labatt's arm with a firm hand.
"And have a pitcher of water brought in... I think Drake is thirsty," Joshua called out just as Clive was leaving with the baron.
"Of course," Clive replied as a sinister smile grew on Labatt's face.
Chapters up to Six are now up on the yahoo group. Enjoy
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